Bengaluru: Wasim Rizvi, former chairman of Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board, has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to invalidate Places of Worship Act, 1991. 

In his letter, he notes thus: "I urge you to scrap the Places of Worship Act, 1991, brought by the then Congress government to appease some Muslim organisations and violate the rights of the Hindus, and bring in laws or set up a high-level committee to mediate and remove these mosques and rebuild the ancient temples where they stood before being demolished by the Mughal emperors.” 

It is to be further noted that in the letter, he has named Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya, Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura, and Kashi Vishvanath temple in Varanasi among others as some ancient temples demolished by the Mughal rulers, as quoted by a popular website. 

He also noted that the exploitation by Mughals could not be undone. 

"We live in a democratic country. We cannot undo the exploitation by the Mughal emperors, but giving back the religious belongings will be justice to the Hindus of the country," noted the website. 

A case has been filed in order to reclaim the Krishnajanma bhoomi in Mathura. 

But there is an Act passed by the Parliament of India that effectively stymies efforts to reclaim places of worship. Called the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, it endeavours to preserve the religious character of places of worship as they stood on August 15, 1947. It also adds that all court proceedings in such cases cease once the Act was passed.

It was last year in November that the Supreme Court ruled the Ayodhya land in favour of Hindus. It also tasked the government to form a trust to oversee the construction of the temple. 

The Bhumi pujan was performed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5.